Family travel reshaping romantic resorts

CLASSIC honeymoon hideaways are increasingly trading romance for family fun. Couples who once escaped to destinations such as Bora Bora, Santorini and the Maldives in search of seclusion are now returning – this time with toddlers, teenagers and even grandparents in tow. 

Multigenerational travel is climbing. With that demand, some traditionally adults-only enclaves are being reimagined to focus on family experiences with the help of direct flights, larger accommodations and immersive activities.

The shift raises a question: What happens when resorts built on privacy and romance pivot to accommodate napping schedules?

Bookings to classic honeymoon destinations through luxury digital concierge Velocity Black have risen 45% over the past two years, according to Ian Swain, the company’s head of travel partnerships.

That’s been driven by families choosing these locations over conventional kid-centric locales, he says.

When New Jersey-based Toshia Larkins and her husband planned their honeymoon in 2011, one destination stood above all others: Bora Bora.

To them, the French Polynesian island represented the ultimate splurge – the kind of once-in-a-lifetime place reserved for a milestone celebration. 

Only a few years into their careers, the couple stretched their budget to make the trip happen.

What drew them was the island’s cinematic reputation: overwater bungalows, a vibrantly blue lagoon and a sense of romance that felt straight out of a fantasy.

“When you think of the most beautiful, picture-perfect honeymoon destination you could ever imagine, Bora Bora was always that place,” Larkins, a former corporate events manager, says.

A few years later, the couple decided to return to the island – this time with their two-year-old son. Larkins packed a carry-on suitcase with snacks and toys.

Instead of an overwater bungalow, the family settled in a beach cottage – a safer choice for a toddler, she thought – and spent most of their time by the pool or on the beach.

This time the family’s milestones – the couple had gotten matching Polynesian tattoos during their first trip as a couple – looked different.

“Our son had his first bag of Cheetos there,” Larkins recounts.

“We have this picture of him, putting a Cheeto in his mouth and he looks like his life is changing. And he’s got the bluest waters behind him.”

Evolving demands

Larkins is among a growing cohort of travellers transforming some of the world’s most romantic escapes into multigenerational playgrounds.

“Destinations that traditionally catered to couples are increasingly recognising the opportunity to welcome larger, high-value family groups, adapting their offerings to better accommodate extended families travelling together,” says Livia Angelini, Europe team leader at Scott Dunn, an international travel company known for planning high-end vacations.

On a recent afternoon at the Four Seasons Bora Bora, tropical warmth hung in the air, mingling with the fragrance of gardenia blossoms.

In the hotel’s infinity pool overlooking one of the resort’s white-sand beaches, a toddler in arm floaties happily splashed in the shallow water while her mother watched over her and an older sibling.

Across the pool, couples lounged in shaded cabanas, sipping cocktails and gazing out at the lagoon.

No signage directed guests where to sit, yet an unspoken rhythm seemed to prevail.

Families – whose bookings at the resort increased by 61% between 2023 and 2025 – naturally gravitated toward the shallower end, while adults clustered around the deeper side, creating a quiet balance. 

Rather than choosing between couples and families, luxury resorts are creating spaces for both. To accommodate the growing demand from families, many in Bora Bora have added multi-bedroom beachfront villas with amenities like full kitchens and private pools with spacious outdoor areas, where families can spread out.

Seasonal experiences like Easter egg hunts have become part of on-site programming, because they usually coincide with school holidays, when resorts fill up with families.

Meanwhile, underwater treasure hunts, snorkelling, kid-friendly ocean conservation activities and babysitting services now come standard. 

New playbook

In conversations with over half a dozen general managers and staff members across luxury resorts in French Polynesia and Greece, a common theme emerged: Keeping the different constituencies happy requires meticulous behind-the-scenes planning.

Concierge teams are now more likely to switch from planning candlelit dinners for couples to arranging diaper and formula deliveries from an island’s main town, guest experience managers say. While a bed covered in rose petals used to be the traditional welcome offering, most resorts now stock guest rooms with custom children’s kits that include stuffed animals, stickers and colouring books.

“If we have honeymooners, we place them in one area of the resort, while families are typically (accommodated) closer to the kids’ club,” says Roger Godin, general manager of Conrad Bora Bora Nui.

Private pools and 24-hour room service have also become standard features to accommodate guests seeking to avoid families in the common areas and restaurants. Although the system generally performs well, staff members say, occasional issues can still arise.

“Once a couple complained that kids were making a lot of noise in the pool,” says Mathieu Gouniot, director of guest experience at the St Regis Bora Bora.

On another occasion, someone wasn’t happy that the family in the next-door overwater bungalow was a little too boisterous on their private deck.

“But it’s not something that we have too much trouble managing,” he says.

For many globetrotters, introducing their children to far-flung destinations is no longer something to postpone until they’re older, those travellers and resort employees say.

That a destination might be a popular couples’ retreat rarely prevents them from booking a trip. Paige Vinckus’ three-week honeymoon across Europe in 2016 included time in Santorini and Mykonos, which she and her husband chose because of the Greek islands’ popularity among young travellers.

The trip involved sunbathing, cruising around on Vespas and indulging in the island’s fabulous seafood. 

“The community, the people, the vibe were just so memorable that we couldn’t wait to get back,” says Vinckus, a Nashville-based customer-relations specialist.

They returned in 2024 as parents of two young children, and they brought her mother too.

This time, the group stayed in a short-term rental with a full kitchen and more space.

More people, longer stays

Vasileios Koumpis is general manager of Katikies Hotels, a luxury portfolio of hotels and villas in Mykonos and Santorini.

He’s one of the pioneers of five-star tourism in Santorini, having opened its first hotel there nearly four decades ago.

Previously, he says, reservations under the same name were mostly for a single room.

In the past few years, he’s noticed an uptick of up to 20% in bookings for two or three guest rooms under the same name, an indicator of family travel.

Dining reservations for six or more are now also common at his restaurants.

Visitors who visited Santorini as a couple years earlier, he says, “want to pass the experience to the younger generation.”

The average stay at Katikies has increased from 3.2 nights to more than four nights, according to Koumpis, with many families extending their visits to a full week. 

In some destinations, the family travel boom has fundamentally reshaped the resort landscape.

The Maldives, once known as the ultimate couples’ retreat for its white-sand beaches, calm lagoons and serene private islands, has emerged as the go-to spot for multigenerational vacations, says Lucy Rudgard, senior oceans and islands travel specialist at Scott Dunn.

Its resorts boast some of the largest kids’ clubs in this part of the world.

Those facilities didn’t exist two or three decades ago.

“If someone tells me, ‘I want to go to an adults-only hotel,’ I have to break it down to a couple, whereas family-friendly resorts, there are hundreds,” Rudgard says.

For couples still hoping to enjoy the seclusion and romance these destinations were once known for, all is not lost.

Christina Turrini, senior luxury travel designer at VWT by Chase Travel, suggests booking romantic trips outside school holidays and communicating room requests in advance.

She emphasises the value of using concierge and butler services. These teams are aware of guest occupancy, allowing them to advise on optimal times for spa treatments, meal times, room options and activities.

Meanwhile, for the Larkins, Bora Bora has evolved from a once-in-a-lifetime honeymoon into a recurring family tradition.

This August, the family of four plans to return to the island again, this time booking an overwater bungalow at the St Regis Bora Bora.

“I’m so excited for our 12-year-old to experience an overwater bungalow for the first time,” Larkins says, “because nothing impresses a preteen anymore.” — Bloomberg